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T O P : M O L D A R C H I T E C T S ; I N S E T : P A N A G I O T I S V O U M B A K I S
to create a protected shelter, at a location
of disarming view, but openly exposed to
strong north winds, led us to the decision
to drill the slope, instead of arranging
a set of spaces in line at ground level,"
states Mold Architects in its brief for
the project, one whose residential grid
is meant to evoke a "chessboard." To
that end, the practice was calculated in
conceiving how the house should unfold.
Ultimately, under a sloping green roof
punctuated with covered courtyards and
open terraces, as well as spaces strewn
across three stories: private bedrooms
n the Greek island of Serifos,
a secluded, windswept refuge
amid sapphire-blue seas, the
hideaway holiday spot nCaved
is firmly bound to earth yet in
a universe of its own. Embedded into a
sloping sea cliff cradling a rocky cove,
the project skims the rustic surface,
hovering above it. Not holding on. Holding
to. Try as it might, however, the low-lying
construction, which is designed by
Athens-based practice Mold Architects,
does not escape notice. Nor does it fit the
typical residential mold, ironically. It is a
spectacle of a shelter, a series of solids
and voids safeguarded from the elements
that frames two views—one of sea, the
other sky.
The architecture itself is something to
see—conceptual but more practical
than it might initially appear. "The need
26 DIGS.NET
| 6.30.23
